April 24th: Message from Blair High School Principal

 in News Articles  tagged AfterProm / Blair High School / distance learning / graduating seniors / graduation by

Below is text from the April 24, 2020 email message from Montgomery Blair High School Principal Renay Johnson that was sent to Blair HS Families.

Hello Montgomery Blair High School Families,

I hope that you and your families are well.  We are in the midst of virtual learning, thank you for your support, patience, and feedback to staff. Here are a few updates for you.

Montgomery Blair’s Distance Learning Schedule:

Here is the link to our weekly schedule, https://mbhs.edu/newsevents/Announcements/MBHS%20Distance%20Learning%20Schedule.pdf. Teachers are expected to follow the class period times.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher, counselor, or supervising administrators. Staff emails are on our school website, https://mbhs.edu/

Advanced Placement Exams Update:

College Board AP Exams will take place May 11-22 in an online format.  Students have worked all year for the opportunity to earn college credit through these exams. College Board recognizes that the current situation may lead to students requesting an exam cancellation.  Therefore, they have suspended any cancellation fees.  Students wishing to cancel an exam must contact Leslie Blaha (Leslie_V_Blaha@mcpsmd.org).  Students who have already paid for their exams will get a full refund, which will be processed through our business office as soon as possible.  

Senior Prom and Graduation:

Montgomery County Public Schools will make the decision on the cancellation or postponement of Prom and Graduation for all high schools.  These milestone events are important to our students, staff, families, and community.  I have met virtually with students, staff, and parents this week to hear their concerns and ideas for our Class of 2020.  Below are three graduation options that MCPS has shared with stakeholders.  A survey to determine the best graduation option will be sent to high school students and parent groups from MCPS soon.

MCPS Graduation Options: 

1. Postpone the traditional graduation ceremonies to late July 2020, dependent upon when schools reopen and CDC guidelines for large gatherings.

2. Have a virtual graduation.

Virtual Graduations Considerations:

  • Students may not want to videotape themselves at home. There are privacy concerns.
  • Families without a TV or WIFI in the home cannot watch a virtual graduation and doing so on a cell phone would be challenging. We issued over 800 Chromebooks and MiFi’s to families, which is all the technology that some families have.
  • Many families do not have cars, so they cannot attend a movie drive-in theatre graduation event.

3.  Have a virtual graduation and seniors could return to their high schools next year for a class celebration…perhaps Homecoming.

Our senior class sponsors have ordered yard signs for each of our 722 seniors, the largest high school graduating class in the state. I would like to thank Ms. Armstead-Thomas, Fine Arts Resource Teachers for making four amazing sign designs.  Our seniors and community members voted on their favorite sign and I am happy to report that sign #4, is the fan favorite (attached).  A special thank you to thank our PTSA who will cover the cost for the signs for all of our seniors. 

In addition, prom invitations, cap & gowns, and tassels are in, and we will distribute these items to seniors in late May.  We want to make sure that seniors get a copy of the yearbook this year.  Some families have been hit hard by COVID-19 and so we are looking for sponsors to help cover the cost of these keepsake books.

If you are willing to purchase a book for a senior who may not be able to afford one, donation is easy. Please go to www.Jostens.com, find Montgomery Blair High School and order a yearbook.  In the Student Info. Fields, please enter “Senior” for the first name and “Donation” for the last name.  A deserving senior thanks you! 

Blair is a George B. Thomas site.  Beginning Saturday, April 25, the George B. Thomas, Sr. Learning Academy (Saturday School) will be launching an online enrichment platform, The Learning Academy Online. The goal of this new platform is to support families and students who are currently enrolled in the program with mastery of the MCPS curriculum through distance learning and to continue to build positive relationships with students and families. More information will be available on the Saturday School website.

Montgomery Blair High School is a meals distribution site.  Families can pick up meals on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (Thursday meals are distributed on Wednesday), and Friday every week.  In addition, weekend meals are distributed on Fridays. As a reminder, a new Montgomery County law requires the use of a face covering during many in-person interactions. We strongly encourage individuals picking up meals and Chromebooks wear a cloth or other material that covers their nose and mouth, such as a cloth face covering, face mask, dust mask, homemade mask, scarf, bandana or handkerchief. The CDC’s instructions on how to make face coverings can be found here.  

As always, thank you for your support.